Business incubators were designed to sustain the deep-rooted image of entrepreneurs being self-reliant and by offering a broad spectrum of tailored services; it seeks to raise the success rate of small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) significantly. BIs have the characteristics to be completely dedicated to the success of a small business in its initial stages but, followed through, it puts in place the tools to achieve long-term success: space, funding, legal, accounting, computer services and other prerequisites to running a business, make BIs a one-stop shop for SMEs. This study has been conducted to establish if there has been a fairytale ending to the symbiotic relationship or whether the business incubator, like the SME, has had to traverse its own set of challenges towards achieving a happy union. The paper adopted a quantitative research approach in which the questionnaire was utilized as the relevant data collection tool. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software was used to analyze the data, with descriptive statistics at the end. As much as limited funding was reported to be a significant challenge that incubatees faced prior to joining the incubation programs, the results point to the fact that the need for multiple skills was the central force that seduced/lured the incubatees into the programs, but the majority of the participating respondents declare a complete lack of regret. Instead, they fully endorse the merits of the union, stating that BIs exists to effectively meet the objectives of SMEs

South Africa is one of the most important countries in the status goods market. In addition, it has the biggest share from the status consumption market in Africa and it is amongst fastest growing countries worldwide in status consumption. The growth in status consumption in South Africa is attributed to the growth of the high-income and middle-income groups. As the demand for status increases and status goods become more available, the concept of status has become an important research area for academics and marketers. The aim of this study is to explore the concept of status consumption and provide an overview of status consumption. In this study, the literature has been reviewed for the studies on the same subject to make a compilation

In as much as entrepreneurial action fosters job creation and economic growth, entrepreneurs encounter the significant risk of failure, and community bears the brunt. Though business incubators were designed to provide support and hope to ailing businesses, evidence suggests that not all on these programs succeed. Going on the assumption that even businesses on incubation programs do not seem to be immune to failure, this study sought to determine the key factors that hinder the growth of incubatees in South Africa. Adopting a quantitative approach, the questionnaire was utilized as the primary data collection tool, and the snowball sampling method was employed resulting in a sample size of 93 respondents. The research participants for this study were limited to firms that were registered on the databases of two business incubators who promote small business development strategy and programs in Cape Town and Johannesburg, respectively. The findings indicated that lack of funding, lack of credit facility, competition, crime, lack of access to external market, lack of business skills and lack of product selection and design were the key factors that hinder the growth of incubatees. Given the substantial resources invested in business incubation programs, the fact that business incubators are entrepreneurial ventures in themselves, understanding and finding sustainable solutions to the factors that hinder the growth of their clients (incubatees) would be a win-win solution for the relevant stakeholders.